My auto with Jared at NOLAcon made me the happiest person. Because. Jared.
I firstly have to thank the artist I commissioned, @quickreaver, who made my idea reality. She was so amazing and wonderful to work with, and totally got where I was going with it. Isn’t her art just stunning?
The basis for the art was dear Jared, illustrated in a Kintsugi style piece, relating back to the #AKF and #LYF movements he has championed.
Kintsugi itself is the Japanese art around repairing broken pottery using lacquer mixed with powdered gold. Â The philosophy treats breakage and repair as part of the history of an object, rather than something to disguise - embracing the flawed and imperfect.
At the heart it’s about recognizing the beauty in broken things.  That they still have value and are worthwhile and useful, made more beautiful for their damage. Â
When I first read about Kintsugi art and saw pieces done in this manner, I related on a very personal level. As I think Sam Winchester would. And as I think Jared could appreciate.
So I wrote Jared a letter explaining the art, the (longer) idea behind it, and gave him his own copy of the art to keep while he signed mine.
He was blown away by the art itself, (YAY Cris!) and just took a moment with a soft, “Wow, this is amazing.” I didn’t get the chance to fully say what I wanted because I was (as always) overwhelmed by this beautiful soft man who looks at you with such warmth and intensity, but he got the gist of it. And when I slid him his own copy, he smiled that lovely dimpled smile, and said thank you. Pretty sure I floated away after.